From a Pedagogy of Death perspective, this study focuses on education for a more conscious life that includes an awareness of death. The objective was to ascertain in depth the views of adolescents on teaching about death in their particular context. The methodology adopted was qualitative and phenomenological. Seven focus groups were organised…

Objective: The study aimed to understand the perceptions, knowledge, information sources, and coping skills pertaining to COVID-19 among two groups of African American young adults. Participants: African American ages 18-29 years enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and non-college enrolled young adults in Mississippi were the…

Dissection has long been the accepted method for teaching anatomy to medical students. More recently, some educators have suggested that easier, cheaper, alternative methods are just as effective. But what do the students think? This paper aimed to identify what undergraduate medical students learn, how they cope, and what effects participating in…

The death of a loved one can be particularly difficult for college students, as significant losses are not anticipated during this time. Bereavement experiences are, however, not uncommon among college students, and campus environments can be isolating and nonconducive to recovery. To date, few interventions have been developed to meet bereaved…

Many studies have reported on the perceptions of medical students toward dissection. It is important to understand the feelings and symptoms experienced during dissection so that they can be adequately handled. Prior to dissection, first year students are given lectures on aspects of dissection, death and dying, and death rituals in various…

Social stereotyping and prejudice constitute pressing societal problems and have many causes. Terror Management Theory offers a compelling and heavily researched account of individuals' reactions towards "dissimilar others" when faced with thoughts of mortality. Building from previous research with adult samples, the present study aimed…

At any given point in time, significant numbers of teenagers are impacted by the death of someone their age. Peer bereavement in middle adolescence coincides with a period when adolescents are primarily concerned with peer relationships and struggling to construct a stable identity for themselves. Peer bereavement interferes with these…

Meanings of religious and nonreligious spirituality are explored, with implications for death acceptance, death rejection, and life extension. In the first of two exploratory studies, 16 elders low on intrinsic religiosity were compared with 116 elders high in religiosity; they differed both in qualitative responses and on death attitudes. In the…

Student nurses are involved in caring for patients who are actively dying or who have been told they have a terminal illness and are faced with the process of dying. Students encounter these patients in hospitals, nursing homes, at home or in hospice care settings. According to Robinson (2004), "nurses are the healthcare providers that are most…

This study investigated whether or not a traumatic death experience of another person (by suicide, homicide, unexpected illness, or accidental death) would impact the world assumptions of traditional college age students. The study also attempted to determine which independent variables (age at which the experience occurred, type of traumatic…

A question-and-answer format is used to help teachers understand how children react to and deal with death, including discussions about grief, the death of a classmate, and when to seek professional help. Several resources are included. (CB)

A teacher recounts her handling of the deaths of two junior high students, summarizes five stages of death, and reviews children's perceptions of death at different ages. Suggestions for teaching terminally ill students are offered along with ideas for helping parents, handling a class after a death, and helping a student after a death in the…

The UK Open University's second-level undergraduate course "Death and Dying" (K260) draws on personal and professional experience to explore the issues of loss, care, ethical practice, communication and grief. Students come from diverse occupational backgrounds (nurses, social workers, medical practitioners) but many study K260 for…

A study was done to determine the impact of a death education course on the relationship between nursing students' death anxiety and locus of control. No significant changes occurred in death avoidance, death fear, death denial, and the reluctance to interact with the dying after the 15-week course. (JN)

An analysis of the loss reactions of college students (N=1,139) was made over a two-year period. Variability in choice of coping mechanism, type of loss, and physical and emotional reactions was shown. Suggests social support systems and communication about the loss were important forces in resolution and grief work. (Author)